A friend in need
by roussel
Summary: Andrea helps out a friend and gets more than she bargained for - Mirandy. First-time DWP writer so please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

It had been over nine months since Andrea Sachs had walked out on fashion week, her job and more importantly, Miranda. The fact that she had not only lived to tell the tale but actually got her reference had stunned everyone, herself included. Theories as to why this was so, had abounded at the time, her personal favorite, pod people taking over the Editor's body and forcing her to be nice. She wasn't sure whether the woman had heard the rumor or not, but from the horror stories she'd heard since, Miranda was quashing it as ruthlessly as ever.

While things appeared to stay the same at Runway, the fact that she actually had time for a life was testament to the change in hers. No more on-call 24/7, lack of sleep and permanent hunger for her and while she had maintained her size four figure, in the real world she no longer worried about people commenting on her weight.

This particular morning was bright and crisp and had brought no hint of impending apocalypse. She had gone to the paper to continue researching a feature she was writing on the crisis in city health care funding for chronic diseases and was currently sitting at her desk eating a skinny blueberry muffin, reveling in not feeling guilty about that fact and listening to Mark, one of her co-workers, ramble on about a 'Spider Wall' he was planning on taking his kids to.

Of all the changes she had experienced since leaving Runway, the luxury of being able to answer her cell without checking to see who it was, was by far the greatest... and something she would seriously rethink over the coming days. Hearing it buzz to life now, she smiled, pulled it out of her pocket, pressed answer and said "Andy Sachs" cheerfully.

"Please tell me you're near the office", a voice said in her ear and Andy's smile broadened on hearing the only person she'd kept in contact with from her former life.

"Hello to you too Nigel."

"There is no time for pleasantries. Miranda's new you didn't confirm her facial appointment this morning, which could see her set a record with Human Resources since said facialist has been rushed to the ER with a ruptured appendix. Miranda's on her way back and wants this afternoon's run through in 15. I am 20 minutes away and that's assuming I can get a cab to stop around here."

A puzzled frown had etched itself on to Andy's face during this somewhat breathless speech, "where are..." she started, before hearing another muffled conversation, going on on Nigel's end.

"Oh Thank God!" he said before bringing the phone back to his ear, "Eduardo has a Vespa, I' ll be as quick as I can..."

"Who's Eduardo? And you still haven't told me why you called..."

"Of course I did, go talk to her..."

"What?" Andy shrieked in shock, then seeing the curious looks she was getting quickly swept the papers on her desk into her bag and moved into the corridor.

Nigel winced and held the cell a little further away from his ear "ok so don't talk to her... just throw yourself under the car... call in a bomb threat... shoot out the tires... just stop her getting up to the office before I do."

"Nigel, she's not going to fire you for being 5 minutes late for a meeting she's moved." On momentary reflection, Andy knew that Miranda could do that in her sleep, but Nigel was already talking.

"... any other day I'd agree with you, but Irv's latest move is to halve the budget for the entire next issue, Emily collapsed yesterday and failed to deliver the book and I've already been late for one meeting this week."

"Wait, Emily collapsed? What hap..."

"Six!" For the first time she could hear a slightly hysterical tone in his voice, "I'm calling in every Blahnik, Chanel and Versace clad favor I've ever..."

"Ok, Ok, I'll try but..."

"Let's do drinks tonight, usual place, a new Dolce came in that will look stunning on you!"

Andy guessed that was a thank you, but the static in her ear was not going to tell her anything and she needed to focus. Miranda's day was apparently going to hell, which meant everyone else's was going to get there first and Nigel was her closest friend. The bomb threat had sounded like a good idea, but who knew what kind of measures the city took against things like that these days. Out of habit she started walking towards Elias-Clarke as she dialed a number she still knew by heart, "Paul? Hi, it's Andy Sachs... yeah long time huh... could you? I'll be there in 10, thanks, bye". Miranda Priestly insisted on perfection in all things, but Andy had learned early on that nothing could foul up the day faster than bad coffee; she still had no intention of approaching the woman in person, but it paid to be prepared. The last time they'd spoken, Nigel had thought Christina was doing a less inept job than the last one, what had been her name, Rachel? No, Rochelle, still if she hadn't been fired yet, coffee was probably the last thing on her mind... and what the hell had happened to Emily?


	2. Chapter 2

Andrea pondered various scenarios as she walked quickly towards her destination. Starbucks was as busy as always, but she saw the manager raise his hand in greeting then turn as a server put the lid on a well insulated cup and handed it to him. "Thanks Paul" she said smiling at him as she took it and handed him the money, she guessed this one was coming out of her pocket.

"Sure, good to see you", he said, then continued under his breath "I appreciate you phoning in the order. I had a girl come in and breakdown a couple of weeks ago when she saw the length of the line, said Miranda would fire her if she wasn't back immediately."

Andy frowned, well at least she knew what had happened to Rochelle, "Sorry, I've not been around, I'll make sure it happens. Thanks again."

"No problem" he smiled and watched appreciatively as she made her way back on to the street.

Rounding the corner she saw the town car pull up outside Elias-Clarke and was momentarily distracted by the thought that Miranda would somehow make sure she was early for her own funeral. She gritted her teeth, Nigel had better be grateful for this. The driver's door opened and Roy got out as she started across the street. By the time he'd opened the passenger door, she'd hit the sidewalk running and was ignoring the irate drivers she'd left in her wake. She took a deep breath, prayed she didn't look the state she felt and called "Miranda" as she slowed to a more measured pace, the length of a catwalk and closing fast, between them. There was a slight hesitation in step, a slight twitch of the regal profile that Andy had always admired, it didn't last, another step was taken, "Miranda" she said more firmly and this time the woman stopped and turned to watch her approach.

It was then the reporter cursed herself for spending the time between the phone call and now wondering about Emily instead of coming up with a plan... "er, hi" she said and smiled nervously. "How are you?..." quickly followed as she watched a gloved hand reach up and pull sunglasses down sufficiently for her to see blue eyes peering blankly at her. Idiot, stop babbling she thought, mentally kicking herself. There's no way she's forgotten you, so now would be a good time to grow a backbone, "I loved the piece by Danielle Ofri last month..." She kicked herself again, Miranda didn't care what she thought, "coffee?" she squeaked holding her hand out.

Miranda looked at the cup suspiciously, the girl would hardly be poisoning her in broad daylight in front of witnesses and truth be told, it had been a while since she'd had a perfect cup. Taking it gingerly out of Andrea's hand she raised it to her lips and drank, her eyes closing as she moved the cup away and swallowed, exhaling through her nose as she did so. Andy was mesmerized, at least until those eyes flicked open again and settled themselves on her. Ice-cold tones said "Is there a reason you're here?"

"Of course", the reporter replied, desperately trying to think of something. Miranda raised a disbelieving, though perfectly shaped, eyebrow and started to purse her lips. "I know it's been a while but I wanted to thank you for your generosity in giving me a reference...", Andy began and her companion looked momentarily surprised. Ha! Andy thought, and wondered how long it had been since anybody had called her generous. "The job is going really well, I've been covering some interesting stories and got a few good bylines and well... and anyway... what I mean is, I know I wouldn't have got the job without you and I appreciate that I was a disappointment... I'm sorry if my leaving caused you any inconvenience" she finished, wondering how she'd ever managed to write a coherent article.

This time Miranda definitely pursed her lips, "Your replacement was situated by the time I got back to New York" she said and turned to go.

"Wait, er..." Andy just managed not to sound panicked, "How are the twins?"

Frowning the older woman turned back, "why?" she asked.

"No reason, I just... I wondered..."

"They are well" Miranda cut her off, she watched the girl open her mouth again and continued, "as is my dog", suddenly seeming to realize that she had been standing on the street for sometime talking, no, being accosted by, an ex-employee.

"Oh, good. I heard about a..." Andy stopped and started rummaging in her bag and Miranda was beginning to wonder whether she should call security when the girl continued, "the Hall of Science has an exhibition on that I thought they might be interested in" she stopped searching for the leaflet Mark had given her earlier and raised it aloft with a smile that only broadened as she looked passed Miranda and saw Nigel sidle into the building, mouthing Thank You at her.

Her attention was brought back as Miranda took the leaflet and briefly looked at the cover, "if they wish to go you may arrange a private session for them on Saturday morning" she said. Mentally making a note to tell the nanny to go as well, in case her former assistant was actually as mentally unstable as she currently seemed.

"What, no... I mean er... wouldn't it be something you'd like to do with them?" Miranda glanced at the leaflet, proudly displaying people climbing around a wall with no visible means of support and then looked back at Andy, "...I meant wouldn't you like to take them".

"I have to work" Miranda replied instantly dismissing the idea.

The reporter remembered how frantic Nigel had sounded earlier and snapped "Well maybe you should schedule some time for a life, then everyone around you can have one as well." She saw the woman's eyes flash as she started to turn away. Andy was more than willing to let her go, then another image popped into her head and she put out an arm to stop her former boss, "Where's Emily?" she asked.

Miranda looked back, her mouth a thin set line, she pondered denying all knowledge for a moment but then some genuine reason must have brought the girl here after all, "Mount Sinai" she replied, then her eyes narrowed, "when you see her, tell her to eat something... I wouldn't want anyone thinking I'd worked her to death. That's all." Moments later Andrea was standing on the street alone.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you for all the kind comments :) **

Mount Sinai, well at least she didn't have far to go Andrea thought, wondering if she'd be able to hunt up someone to speak to for her article while she was there. She didn't pause to ask herself why she was going to see Emily until she was waiting at the admit desk, then she frowned. It wasn't as if they'd ever been friends, or even comrades in arms, still, clearly something had happened and she was concerned enough to find out what. Walking along the hallway following the directions she'd been given, she thought back to Miranda's parting shot and wondered if Emily was still on that ridiculous diet. Stopping at the open door, she saw the drip in Emily's arm and wondered if she was on any medication, "Hey".

Shock registered on the English girl's face as she turned, before a strangled greeting of "do not tell me she's rehired you!" answered any doubts Andy had on Emily's current cognitive state.

"Seriously Em, if she had, do you think I'd have time to be here?" She asked, entering the room. The slight snort that followed made Andy feel they'd bonded enough to say "besides, you've got an assistant, right?"

"Please! I wouldn't leave a potted plant to the care of your replacements, let alone Miranda" Emily got out before hastily shutting her mouth, she had no desire to let Andrea know she'd actually been the best of the bunch.

Andy frowned, "But this morning aside, I thought Christina was doing ok?"

"Christina was..." Emily tensed as she processed the rest of the sentence, "What happened this morning?"

"Miranda's facialist had a ruptured appendix and Christina had forgotten to confirm..."

"Oh. My. God!" She struggled to get out of bed, "Christina went Monday after she forgot to press hold before asking Miranda if she wanted to speak to Donatella... Lesley is still clearing up the fallout! The thing HR sent me yesterday said she had experience working as an assistant, clearly it was a mistake... I need to..."

"You stay right where you are, Miranda can cope perfectly well... she told me to tell you to eat something by the way."

"She did? Wait, you've spoken to her?" Emily asked, her eyes widening until Andrea thought they would pop out.

"Only long enough to find out where you were. Don't worry," Andy reassured her, "I have absolutely no designs on your job, surprisingly enough I actually like mine. At the moment I'm doing an article on..."

Emily glared, "did you just want a captive audience for your ramblings or..."

The question was cut short as Andy let out a laugh, some things just never changed, "I came to see how you were, clearly you're fine."

"I will be when they let me out of here, I dread to think what disasters are going on in my absence." She put a hand up to her forehead as a thought occurred to her, "Oh God, Miranda's got a meeting with Brian Reyes this afternoon, I need to..."

Still standing near the door, Andrea could hear the heart rate monitor speeding up, this was not good, "Emily calm down, I'll call the office and remind the new girl... what's her name?"

"How am I supposed to know, it's not like I've been able to keep track of them all!"

Wondering precisely how many 2nd Assistants there had been since she left, Andy continued, "well I'll call her and make sure she confirms it, anything else?"

"No." Emily replied shortly.

"Ok then, well I'll be..." Andy hitched a thumb over her shoulder and turned to leave.

"Wait," the girl practically screeched, calming a little as Andy turned back, "I suppose you could remind her that Miranda's order of scarves needs picking up and that there's an exhibition opening at MoMA tonight, tell her to leave everything to Nigel or it will be a complete disaster and Miranda is only staying for half an hour, the skirts need to be sent back to ..." Andy concentrated as words flowed out of Emily's mouth like water through the breached wall of a dam. When she finally stopped, she looked up and Andy saw the relief in her eyes.

Smiling reassuringly she said, "I'll call and make sure everything gets done".

Emily nodded her thanks as she sank back onto the bed, "I'll be back tomorrow, they want to keep me in for observation but..." she sat up again in haste, "the book!"

The reporter rolled her eyes, "Where's your key?"

"You can't, she'd kill you... and what's more important, she'd fire me!"

"Don't worry Em, I don't have a death wish but I will take care of it".

Emily nodded again, too tired to argue, "key's in there" she said, waving vaguely to the Marc Jacobs bag by the side of the bed. Andy revised her earlier assessment, Emily must be on really heavy medication to give in that easily.


	4. Chapter 4

Miranda Priestly, Fashion Guru and scourge of designers and clackers alike was at a loose end, it happened rarely and she never knew what to do when it did. The girls were in bed, she had declined to grace MoMA with her presence and she knew she had no hope at all of the book arriving. Having sat down and picked up a rival magazine, she flipped through a few pages but was feeling too restless to concentrate. It was all the fault of that girl, who was she to waltz back into her life, have the nerve to thank her and then practically accuse her of killing her assistant. She toyed with the idea of watching the twins sleep, one of the few things that generally calmed her, but she thought that tonight even that wouldn't be enough and she didn't wish to disturb them unnecessarily. It was then that she heard the front door open quietly and frowned, Emily was, she supposed, still in the hospital, her 2nd assistant certainly wouldn't be here, so who? Could Andrea really have the gall to... she walked into the hallway, ready to do battle and saw "Nigel?"

"Miranda" he said calmly, fighting an intense urge to turn and flee for his life, thank God she'd had no dry cleaning tonight. The Editor looked disconcerted, "we made the changes to the Valentino layout, I thought you'd like to see them" he put the book down and turned to go.

His hand was on the door knob by the time she'd recovered from the shock, "Thank you..." she said and he glanced back in time to see the most frightening thing on earth, "why don't we go over them", she continued, smiling.

"I, er," his head twitched minutely before he gave in, "of course".

By the time he got back to the bar, Andrea had downed three Cosmopolitans and something a lurid pink that the bartender, who was rapidly becoming her new best friend, had thought she would like. She did, which was why she was on her second. "I'll have two of whatever that is" Nigel said pointing at her glass, "and she's paying".

"Go in, put the book down, get out, how does that take 2 hours?" He picked up a glass the moment it appeared on the bar, downing it quickly. He picked up the second before turning towards her, "she caught you" Andy said looking into his eyes.

"No, I hung around for the fun of it, she was baking cookies and invited me to share."

Clearly it had been bad, Andy caught the bartender's eye, "better make another couple".

Nigel stopped drinking long enough to chip in with, "each...", a few moments later he continued, "what exactly did you say to her this morning?"

Andrea lent the side of her head on her arms, which were currently residing on the bar and frowned, "nothing, why?"

"Nothing does not put her in a mood like that unless it's for an article going in this month's edition... Nothing, my dear, does not keep Miranda Priestly standing on the street so that me, myself and I can get to a meeting before her... for which I will add, I am eternally grateful... however since eternity is considerably shorter than tonight has been, I consider my time served". Andy sympathized, she'd often felt like that herself.

Mentally going back over the conversation in her head she said, "I asked her where Emily was".

"Mm, she didn't ask me where I'd got the key, so she's already figured that one out, next".

"I suggested she take the twins to the Hall of Science, I gave her a leaflet..."

Nigel raised an eyebrow, "scintillating, go on."

"I gave her some coffee and said thank you for giving me a reference".

Nigel choked and Andrea raised her head up, looking concerned. "You thanked her for giving you a reference. This morning?" he said when he'd gotten his breath back.

Andy grinned, "she looked stunned actually, I remember wondering how long it's been since anyone had thanked her for...".

He put up his hand to stop her talking, "just let me clarify, you walk out on her during the most important week of the year, yet she gives you a reference anyway, and it takes you nine months to say thank you? No wonder she looked stunned, clearly they don't teach manners in the mid-west."

"That's not true" Andy said defensively, "I do have manners, and I did sort of try to say thank you before but she ignored me!"

"Oh poor you! Do you think she gave you that reference lightly? That you deserved it?" Nigel ask finishing the last of his cocktail just as the bartender arrived with more.

"I did deserve it!" Andy cut in, "I was the best 2nd assistant she's ever had, Emily as much as told me so this afternoon, no-one made her life run more smoothly than..."

"and you walked out when she needed you the most!"

"I walked out because of what she did to you!" Andrea countered.

"Six, we both know that's not true" he replied, picking up another glass. "Besides, I can fight my own battles".

"So what was, 'shoot out her tires'?" Andrea asked deciding pink was her favorite color and adopting her former head on arm on bar position.

"Extenuating circumstances" Nigel mumbled.

Rotating her head so she could peer at him properly she said, "where were you anyway and who is Eduardo?"

Nigel looked from side to side before beckoning her closer conspiratorially and Andy giggled as she moved in, "Broadway" he said quietly.

"What do you mean, Broadway?" Andy frowned.

"Shh" Nigel said putting his finger to his lips, before following her lead and resting his arm on the bar, his head on his arm and deciding he'd probably had one too many pink things. "Well technically it's off Broadway, but we're looking to greater things". Andrea still looked puzzled, "It's a play about a teenage hustler who becomes a top male model... think Urban Cowboy meets Prêt-à-Porter..." Andy blinked, trying not to think about it, "and I am doing the costume design".

"Wow, that must be..." she frantically searched for an appropriate word "challenging".

"Darling, you have no idea!"

"And Miranda doesn't know about this?"

"You're joking, 25 hours a day get devoted to Runway by everybody who works there, as you very well know" he paused and sat upright again, if Paris had been an epiphany for Andy, it had been no less for him, "I still hope for the best..." he said removing a handkerchief from the top pocket of his jacket.

"There's nothing wrong with giving yourself other options Nigel" she said reaching over and putting a hand on his arm.

"I still think she'll come through..." he took off his glasses and started to clean them.

Andy picked up her drink, "She will, after all I got my reference didn't I? And nothing bad has happened yet."

Nigel opened his mouth again, then seeing the happy expression on his companion's face, shut it quickly.

"What?"

"Nothing, come on, drink up and I'll get you a cab".


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. School restarting and then a sudden death put it to the back of my mind. I will be continuing this but it may be slower now I have less time. As always, thank you for the comments :)**

Andy awoke to the sound of ringing, which was odd since in her limited experience her hangovers usually had a jack hammer soundtrack. Wondering briefly why cocktails should be any different she realized it was actually her phone, with a jackhammer bass. "Mmm?"she answered, mainly to stop the noise.

"Andrea? Andrea are you there?"

"Miranda?" an eye cracked open in shock.

"I decided you were right, I should make time for a life".

"Oh... well that's nice" she winced at the word as she said it and thought she could actually hear eyes narrowing at the other end of the line.

Miranda let it pass, "Since I missed the exhibition opening, I'm going to MoMA".

"Oh... well..." she clamped down on the word nice again and said, "right" instead.

"I've cleared a space in my schedule at 2..." the now clearly annoyed voice continued, "I do hope you'll have regained your conversational skills by then Andrea."

"Right... wait, me?"

"Well it was your idea and I have no intention of going alone".

"But Miranda I have to..."

"Work?" the woman intoned in much the same way as she had the day before.

Andy sighed, she wanted to die, now was really not the time for Nigel's words to be coming back to guilt trip her. She was not ungrateful and to prove it she'd spend the afternoon with her ex-boss, if that wasn't penance nothing was. "I'll be happy to come with you Miranda, I just could have done with more notice".

"I'll bear that in mind" came the reply, stunning Andy with its reasonableness even as it threatened more such jaunts. The dead tone in her ear brought her crashing back to reality, dammit, she had a hangover to cure and interviews to do, she really didn't have time for this. Glancing at her alarm clock as she put the phone back on her night stand, she screeched and instantly regretted it as she flopped back onto the bed and dragged a pillow over her head. It appeared she had more time than she'd thought and she was going to use it to murder whoever had given Miranda Priestly her new number.

---

1.50pm the same day, saw Andrea Sachs tearing down 5th Avenue, a half eaten bagle in hand. Slowing as she executed a wide arc into 53rd street, she brought the remains of her lunch to her lips just as she saw Roy pull up outside the museum. Whimpering, she jettisoned the carbs into the nearest trash can, and brushed a hand quickly over her blouse to remove any telltale crumbs, before bringing it to her mouth to check her breath. Why couldn't Miranda have been late, or even on time?

Covering the final few yards she briefly wondered if this was how a condemned man felt on his final walk, coming to a halt beside the car she grinned at the thought that at least he'd get to eat his last meal. She took several deep breaths as Roy came to stand beside her, nodding in sympathy as he did so, then the door was opened and Andrea watched as a shapely leg appeared and a Prada shod foot connected firmly with the sidewalk, quickly followed by it's partner. The editor waited until she was facing her former assistant before removing her sunglasses and once again Andrea felt the ice bore into her. "Miranda" she said smiling, "Thank you again for inviting me".

Lips twitched even as a disbelieving eyebrow rose skyward, "I'm sure the pleasure's all mine" Miranda replied smoothly and Andrea, unable in all honesty to disagree, stayed silent.

The exhibition opening in question turned out to be a retrospective of the American minimalist painter Bryce Marden. To Andy, this could be summed up as either squiggles on canvas or painted rectangles on canvas and sometimes both together. Bearing in mind Nigel's stricture the previous evening however, she dutifully examined every piece, thankful that the editor did not enjoy small talk and hoping she looked, if not interested, then at least thoughtful.

"You do not appear to appreciate the exhibition Andrea" Miranda observed just after the reporter had tried discretely to look at her watch and noted with horror that an hour and a half had gone by and she was rapidly approaching being late for an interview.

Trying not to look guilty, the reporter sighed, "do you remember the day you berated me for not knowing the difference between two blue belts?"

Miranda paused for a moment before saying "I prefer to think I educated you on the difference between the belts, I berated you for not caring about, 'stuff'."

Andrea brought up her arm and gestured at the works hung around the room, "I'm sorry Miranda, to me, this is just stuff."

The older woman looked at her for a moment and Andrea wondered, not for the first time where Miranda was concerned, whether she should have kept her thoughts to herself. Finally she said quietly, "these require patience and work Andrea, but in the end they repay it". She turned her gaze back to the painting in front of her, her hand rising and pointing instinctively as she continued, "Bryce has an extremely subtle technique that enables him to suggest, a light, held prisoner behind the final impervious surface of his work, it's..." the woman stopped, her hand fell away and Andrea was stunned by the knowledge that she wanted her to continue. She did not get her wish and Miranda studied the painting for a few moments more before turning back to her companion and saying, "unfortunately it is best seen under natural light, which we have a deplorable lack of in here, is it expecting too much to find a curator that knows how to hang an exhibition? These would have been impossible to appreciate last night."

Andrea grinned, "I didn't think appreciating the art was the point of an opening."

Miranda's mouth held a faint hint of a smile, "Maybe not, but sometimes Andrea, you should just the same."

"You really care about this don't you?" the reporter asked surprised.

Miranda eyes narrowed and examined her face once again as Andy fought to keep herself from biting her lip, finally the blue eyes lightened, "Beauty may not be necessary to our survival but it sustains us nevertheless. The least we can do is try to recognize it when we see it" the editor answered.

Andy frowned and the words were out before she could stop them, "but your standard of beauty is beyond the means of all but a few of the world's population".

The editor pursed her lips and her eyes flashed as she said "You know nothing of my standard of beauty Andrea. Runway is not a standard of beauty, it is THE standard of perfection; that to which we aspire; that which guides us, that which..."

"Gives us hope" Andy said to herself. Miranda eyed her companion in silence, then realizing her mouth was still open, shut it decisively. The reporter looked up, "I'm sorry, it's something someone once said to me, that Runway was a shining beacon of hope, I think I understand what he meant now". Unwilling to give in to the curiosity she felt, the editor merely nodded as a discreet cough came from the direction of the doorway and they turned to find Roy looking uncomfortable.

"Yes?" Miranda inquired, annoyed at the intrusion.

"I'm sorry Ms Priestly" the driver began, "I believe you had another appointment half an hour ago and your assistant is..."

Miranda waved him away and turned to her companion, "I understand that Emily's recovery after your visit could almost have rivaled that of Lazarus" Andy smirked, she could well believe it. "Life however will have to be rescheduled" Miranda continued sighing , "perfection waits for no man, or woman". With that, she turned and moved purposefully towards the entrance.

"Thank you Miranda" Andy called after her, "I very much enjoyed your company", a slight pause in gait was the only sign that the editor had heard but Andy smiled anyway, Nigel would have nothing to reproach her for this time. Turning back to take a last look at the painting she stood stock still as she realized that for the last 15 minutes at least, she hadn't even been lying.


End file.
